*China agrees to host a permanent representative of the NSCN (IM) from 2008
*The outfit is asked to spy on Indian troops in Arunachal Pradesh and the Dalai Lama
*Pakistanâ€™s ISI also contacts NSCN (IM) and asks it to break the ceasefire with India
*NSCN (IM)â€™s firepower grows significantly during the ceasefire with India that began in 1995

For decades, India and China have played a cat-and-mouse game, full of intrigue and suspense. Even while New Delhi is trying to find ways around vexatious border issues or making occasional noises about stapled visas, Beijing has been secretly supporting, advising and arming major insurgent outfits in Indiaâ€™s troubled Northeast and the Maoist belt. Unlike the noise and heat the Indo-Pak relationship generates, Indian diplomats maintain a studied silence when it comes to the Chinese hand in the Northeast or arms from across the border reaching Maoists in central India.

In the last three months, however, the Chinese hand in the Northeast has been revealed in great detail. In the early hours of October 2 last year, Indian intelligence officials, along with their counterparts in the National Investigation Agency, accosted a tall, hefty man waiting outside the Patna railway station. The quarry was Anthony Shimray, a key official of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) faction or NSCN(IM), the biggest insurgent outfit in the Northeast. Not only is Shimray a powerful member of the NSCN(IM)â€™s top leadership, he is also the nephew of its general secretary, T. Muivah, currently in New Delhi for peace talks with the Centre. As the chief arms procurer for the outfit, Shimray also has first-hand information on Chinese efforts to support insurgencies.

Shimray: Tailed and Nabbed

Shimrayâ€™s early morning arrest was the culmination of a meticulous operation conducted by Indiaâ€™s external intelligence agency RAW in the preceding weeks. They had managed to track down Shimray in the middle of September. He was operating out of Bangkok, a haven for arms dealers, insurgents and intelligence agencies. It was to be a tricky call: Shimray could not be nabbed in a foreign land, and there was considerable debate within the government on picking him up since this was in the midst of a dialogue with NSCN(IM). Finally, with clearance, intelligence officials had a stroke of luck.

By the end of September, the sleuths had gathered from their sources that Shimray would need to travel from Thailand to get his visa renewed and visit his cadres in Manipur and Nagaland. Quietly, they managed to procure his travel details to Nepal and began to monitor his exit from Bangkok. Shimray took a Royal Nepal Airlines flight to Kathmandu in the early hours of September 27 and proceeded by road to quietly slip across the Indian border into Bihar. From here, he was to proceed by rail to the Northeast but he was arrested before that.

His subsequent interrogation has been detailed in a 100-page report, accessed exclusively by Outlook. It throws up several startling truths about the Chinese hand in Indian insurgencies. While Shimray speaks at length about NSCN(IM), he also reveals Chinaâ€™s links with ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in Assam and the United National Liberation Front in Manipur. Here are Shimrayâ€™s key revelations:

Chinese Arms for the Northeast

Even as recently as September 25, 2010, Shimray was procuring arms and had held further talks with his middleman in Bangkok, Willy Narue. One consignment being negotiated was for Arunachal Pradesh. He even asked the suppliers if they could deliver in the â€œupper part of Arunachal from the Chinese sideâ€. Investigators feel Shimrayâ€™s covert October trip to India may have been tied to the arms deals.

Shimray also told his interrogators how he procured arms from the Chinese in late 2007. â€œIt was decided by our leadership stationed in New Delhi to strengthen the weaponry of the organisation,â€ he reveals. With Narueâ€™s help, he contacted Yuthuna, a Chinese representative of TCL in Bangkok, TCL being the â€œauthorised subsidiary of the Chinese arms company China Xinshidai, Beijingâ€. On its website, Xinshidai is described as dealing in the import and export of specialised products by Chinaâ€™s defence industries.

The final shopping list included 600 AK series rifles, nearly 6 lakh ammunition rounds, 200 sub-machine guns, pistols, rocket launchers, light machine guns and 200 kg of RDX. The deal was worth $1.2 million, with an additional $1 million for shipment from China. The consignment was sent through a shipping agent in Kittichai of Bangkok-based Intermarine Shipping. It was to be â€œloaded from Beihei, a south Chinese port. The destination was Coxâ€™s Bazaarâ€, a major landing station on the Bangladesh coast. â€œAll the correspondence with Willy Narue, our leadership in New Delhi, Nagaland and others in Thailand and China,â€ Shimray says, â€œwas made on e-mail to maintain the secrecy of the entire project.â€ The information was saved as a draft and accessed by Chinese intelligence using Shimrayâ€™s password.

Shimray also recalled his visit to China in 1994 for a joint arms deal for NDFB. The â€œprocurement of the arms and ammunitionâ€ was â€œmade from the Chinese company NORINCOâ€. This consignment included â€œ1,800 pieces of arms and one lakh rounds, which included AK series rifles, M16 automatic assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and pistolsâ€. The money came from a Naga businessman using Calcutta-based hawala operators.

Again, in 1996, â€œarms and ammunition were brought from Beijing to Coxâ€™s Bazaar in a North Korean shipâ€. After the consignment was unloaded in small boats on the high seas and transferred in trucks to NSCN(IM) camps in Bangladesh, it travelled to the Northeast.

China Hosts Permanent Representative of NSCN(IM)

In another significant revelation, Shimray details how Chinaâ€™s relationship with the NSCN(IM) was strengthened in 2008 when it agreed to host their permanent representative. The year also seems to have been a watershed moment in the NSCN(IM)â€™s relationship with China and its renewed efforts to arm itself. And ironically, in the midst of a 15-year-dialogue it has been having with New Delhi.

According to Shimray, in a letter from â€˜Prime Ministerâ€™ Muivah addressed to senior Chinese intelligence officials, Kholose Swu Sumi, a 60-year-old member of the Sema tribe in the Zunheboto district of Nagaland, was appointed as the permanent representative of the NSCN(IM) in China. Kholoseâ€™s acceptance by the Chinese was an official acknowledgement of a formal relationship with the NSCN(IM). Kholose was promoted to the rank of a colonel and asked to interface with the Chinese. â€œHis main job was to update the Chinese authorities about the development of peace talks and the activities of the Indian army and to pass on the response of the Chinese authorities to the collective leadership of NSCN(IM),â€ says the interrogation report recording Shimrayâ€™s confessions.

Kholose, who ran a business in precious stones, received Shimray and his wife at Kunming airport (Yunnan province, southeastern China) on a visit and introduced him to several Chinese intelligence officials. â€œHe introduced me to Mr Chang, head of intelligence of the region in Dehong Mangshi,â€ Shimray told his interrogators. â€œMr Lee Wuen, head of intelligence of Yunnan province, was also introduced to me. I gave them the message of our leadership, that NSCN(IM) wanted their assistance and cooperation.â€

Forging Military Cooperation and Spying on India

Shimray also talks of a visit to China in the summer of 2009. This time, he accompanied his â€˜Presidentâ€™, Isak Chisi Swu. â€œThe visa for the visit,â€ says Shimray, â€œwas arranged by the Chinese intelligence authorities at the Chinese embassy in the Philippines.â€ The trip helped the NSCN(IM) leadership forge â€œmilitary cooperationâ€ with the Chinese. But, â€œin lieu of extending military cooperation,â€ says Shimray, the NSCN(IM) was to â€œgive information on the movement and activities of the Dalai Lama in India and the movement and facilities of (the) Indian army in Arunachal Pradeshâ€.

NSCN(IM) cadres in the border district of Tirap in Arunachal Pradesh began to immediately monitor Indian troop movements. Shimray contacted a Naga journalist in Delhi, paid her Rs 80,000, and persuaded her to travel to Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Dalai Lama, to gather intelligence. â€œFor getting information on the movements and activities of the army in Arunachal Pradesh, we collected the information through our cadres in Tirap district and our New Delhi office,â€ Shimray told the investigators. â€œI passed on this information to an official of the Chinese intelligence agency.â€

In his reports to Chinese intelligence, Shimray would use code words such as â€œAwoâ€ to designate China and â€œMayangâ€ for India. He also conveyed the information using the e-mail id angel3phi@ yahoo.com, which would be accessed by a Chinese intelligence officer using the same password. While Shimray was in constant touch with the Chinese, other senior NSCN leaders such as â€˜deputy ministerâ€™ Kehoi too were making contacts with Chinese authorities. In addition, NSCN(IM) commander-in-chief V.S. Atem also had some Chinese contacts.

Interestingly, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested three Chinese citizens in January who had illegally crossed into India and were found photographing border check-posts. In the same month, a 39-year-old Chinese woman, Wang Qing, was arrested and deported after she illegally travelled to Nagaland and also met Muivah. She was reported to be from the Peopleâ€™s Security Bureau, the Chinese intelligence agency.

ISI Links

In a subsequent interrogation, Shimray also gives interesting insights into his relationship with Pakistanâ€™s ISI which tried to engage with the northeastern insurgents on several occasions. The NSCN(IM) leadership was received by â€œthe Pakistani intelligence officialsâ€ in Karachi way back in 2001 even as the NSCN(IM) was negotiating peace with New Delhi. In 2008, an ISI agent working under the pseudonym of â€œMr Rexâ€ and stationed in Bangladesh visited the NSCN(IM) leadership in Bangkok and offered â€œfinancial help as well as military trainingâ€ if the Nagas broke the ceasefire with India.

It is, however, the China factor that continues to be a major irritant for New Delhi even as peace talks continue with the Nagas. It has already expressed its displeasure at Chinaâ€™s stapled visas to Kashmiris and Arunachalis, its denial of a visa to an Indian army general and its efforts to arm and support the insurgency in the Northeast. The balance of power between the elephant and the dragon, it seems, will continue to oscillate before it can stabilise.

He was tailed and nabbed by members of the elite NIA < National Investigation Agency >.

Recently a lot of info. about China's deleterious activities in the North east have been comin up. It is not a road they want to go down to. We know how to play this "great game" very well.

T.R Calvin, deputy arms procurer and Hangshi Ramson Tanghkul, defence minister ("LOL") for the NSC-IM are some other names to take note of.

These have been absconding in Thailand, and Thaliand's assistance has been sought under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to nab the criminals. If I was them tho, I would think to slip into Cambodia, where the arm of the Indian law does not extend. That is something we got to watch out for. There has been a lot of activity with these criminal groups of late. Chidambaram, as home Minister, seems to have done a good job with the internal intelligence agencies.

The NIA have ascertained that the NSC-IM had procured 1,800 arms from factories in China in 1996. Since China's arms factories are all state owned, this could not have happened without state complicity.

Is it sign of sudden activity of Indian investigative agency against chinese activity in India or its due to some critical information/tips coming from other friends like say USA for example . Because I have noticed a sudden change success against chinese spying activities in India .

Is it sign of sudden activity of Indian investigative agency against chinese activity in India or its due to some critical information/tips coming from other friends like say USA for example . Because I have noticed a sudden change success against chinese spying activities in India .

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It's most likely to do with the Home Minister. Even ascertaining information inputs from foreign intelligence agencies requires a certain amount of political juxtaposing. And the Home Minister, in concert with the Foreign Ministry and the liaisons in intelligence do that. Intelligence inputs are always forthcoming, as long as the country is on your side, it's what you do with them that matters. And there, political will is key.

P. Chidambaram is a pretty efficient and assiduous Home Minister. He actually goes beyond what most ministers would do.

Well I think its more to do with help from Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as US intelligence asssets in China or maybe India developing its own assets in China that has resulted in these breakthroughs.

But one thing is for sure. China will not be working towards a detente with India. Its going to do its best to create issues. Pakistan may be a near term irritant by China is certainly the existential threat in the long term.

Well I think its more to do with help from Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as US intelligence asssets in China or maybe India developing its own assets in China that has resulted in these breakthroughs.

But one thing is for sure. China will not be working towards a detente with India. Its going to do its best to create issues. Pakistan may be a near term irritant by China is certainly the existential threat in the long term.

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Bangladesh and Myanmar hardly have any intelligence gathering capabilities comparable to India. Please remember than Myanmar is more close to China than it is to India. Bangladesh's DGFI(Directorate General of Forces Intelligence) is a stooge of the ISI. Just some occasional help in chasing away North-eastern insurgents out of their territory is not a very big deal for them. Bangladesh has helped us with disbanding ULFA, but not the other terrorists groups based in NE, since most of them operate out of Myanmar, as well to some extent in Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The ULFA turnaround came because of Sheikh Hasina's governments favorable stance towards our bilateral relationship. But she has no control over the activities of the DGFI, they are untouchable in Bangladesh. So, she can hardly help in cutting off its Anti-India ties with the ISI.

The recent successes that we achieved on the intelligence front is because of the Home minister's efforts, and to some extent, I believe help from the Americans.

It's most likely to do with the Home Minister. Even ascertaining information inputs from foreign intelligence agencies requires a certain amount of political juxtaposing. And the Home Minister, in concert with the Foreign Ministry and the liaisons in intelligence do that. Intelligence inputs are always forthcoming, as long as the country is on your side, it's what you do with them that matters. And there, political will is key.

P. Chidambaram is a pretty efficient and assiduous Home Minister. He actually goes beyond what most ministers would do.

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All those success news start to come only in past few months . specially after Obama visit . May be its a speculation but I feel our agencies are having better cooperation against china .

2011-01-31 (China Military News cited from telegraphindia.com and written by NISHIT DHOLABHAI) -- Alleged Chinese spy Wang Qing was allowed to leave India despite evidence that Beijing had tasked Northeast insurgents to get information on India's long-range missile installations, intelligence sources have told The Telegraph.
They said that since early 2010, the government had known that China had extended its northeastern militant links far beyond traditional ally NSCN-IM and was training several of these outfits.
In September, the government learnt that Manipur's United National Liberation Front (UNLF) had been asked to gather intelligence about Indian long-range missiles that are directed towards China, the sources said.
This apparently came out from an examination of the laptop of Ningombam Dilip alias Ibochou, an UNLF leader who was arrested in Guwahati on September 7.
This was around the time that top leaders from the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), Ulfa, UNLF and at least two other Northeast outfits had attended a meeting in China's Guangzhou, the sources said.
Shortly before that, Wang had allegedly visited India and travelled illegally to Nagaland. She then repeated her visit this month and was caught in Dimapur, Nagaland, on January 18.
India issued a demarche to Beijing last week after deporting Wang on January 21 and expressing "displeasure" to China the next day. That she was not arrested and was let off within three days reflects New Delhi's reluctance to precipitate matters with Beijing.
The sources cited several instances of China's increased help to Indian militants:
Ulfa chairman Paresh Barua apparently relocated to China's Yunnan province in April 2009;
A top Naga leader met a retired Chinese general named Lee at a hotel in Kunming, Yunnan, in the first week of May 2009;
A UNLF leader, Lancha, met Chinese officials at Ruili in Yunnan;
Beijing helped Ulfa establish a camp at Laiza in Myanmar's Kachin in March last year, and later advised it to relocate 100 cadres from western to eastern Kachin.